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I think that Science is religion to most commoners nowadays. Quantum computing, AI and self-driving cars are the prophecies, Teslas and iPhones the miracles, El

• chillacy 8y ago
  That's gotta only be true for a small subset of techies; for a majority of people, religion is religion still. We haven't figured out a secular way to induce feelings of exhaltation (ayn rand tried, I don't think it worked for most people).
  • WalterSear 8y ago
    IMHO, tech is more a source of magic for people on the outside of tech, such as the kind drawn to situations like Heaven's Gate. Even in the more speculative scenes in tech (such as the MLI/Singularity crowd), there's no religion going on. It's mastubatory fantasy like religion, certainly - but under the control of the people involved: a game. Since the game is being defined by the players, there's no fearful superstition or external malevolence imposing itself and requiring placation. Religion would involve the same masturbation, but more driven by external sociality with fear and social coercion that comes with that, in addition to the mental pandering.